This invention relates to an improved construction for an illuminating signal device to indicate that a vehicle is in distress.
All too often, an accident occurs or an automobile becomes disabled in a remote stretch of highway wherein prompt effective assistance is inaccessible. Passing motorists are often reluctant to stop, particular if they are not aware that an emergency situation exists. Moreover, when an accident or automobile failure occurs, the disabled automobile may itself constitute a serious traffic hazard, even though the driver may be successful in pulling the automobile off the roadway. Commonly in such situations, flares are placed behind the vehicle to warn on-coming motorists. The flares are generally placed at ground level and may not become visible to the approaching driver until it is too late for the driver to avoid a collision.
Prior to the present invention there have been many other approaches to solving the problem of the warning of a disabled vehicle. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,157,531, 3,810,092, 3,274,548, and 3,226,707 teach illuminating signalling devices that are placed either on top or in the vehicle, visible and blinking so as to inform oncoming traffic of the impending distress. None of these patents teaches the visibility for quick recognition that the instant invention has nor the compactness for easy handling and storage.